Adrian Magson is the author of 32 books, including the Insp Lucas Rocco crime series set in 1960s France, the contemporary Harry Tate and the Marc Portman spy thrillers and more. His ‘Beginners’ non-fiction book includes many extracts from 20 years penning the page of the same name in Writing Magazine.
More information: https://www.adrianmagson.com/
‘Every perfect murder needs a cunning plot’. So says the blurb of L.C. Tyler’s latest book, ‘The Murder Planner’. And it’s not wrong.
Crime writing’s version of a siren song, this writing draws you in with deceptive ease like warm chocolate on a chilly day.
The title of the book comes from the central figure – Sable (aka Eileen) Knight, who owns a small publishing company specialising in crime – what else? She is also the commissioning editor, so she knows lots of struggling authors.
Sadly, publishing doesn’t always pay what it should. So Sable has a side-line: she pays selected crime writers to come up with the perfect plot on how to kill someone. The resultant plot can then be sold to a murderous client to use in real life to bump off someone they do not like.
It works well enough, albeit on a small scale, but there’s always a client and a writer whose talents or needs can be joined – anonymously, of course – to achieve the aims of all.
Unfortunately, not every client goes with the plan, and when one woman who wants to bump off her wealthy and seriously dallying husband fails to stick to the rules, it’s Sable who suddenly sees herself in danger of coming under the scrutiny of the Met Police, one of whom is her own brother, Keith, who is no slouch when it comes to solving crimes.
Another danger is her own mother who finds it difficult to keep a secret or to tell Sable what is going on in her life.
Thus the pressures keep piling up, including a sort-of boyfriend, Joe, who comes and goes, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions about what he does in life, and the sudden appearance of blackmail letters suggesting the writer knows what Sable is doing.
It’s a neat idea, using a written plot to execute (sorry) a real-life plan. No doubt someone out there has already done it.
But if crime is your thing and a (mostly) sympathetic cast of characters is your preferred reading, this will be right up your street
It may be no surprise to know that the author is a former chair of the Crime Writers’ Association and the winner of the CWA Short Story Dagger and the Last Laugh Award.
Sit back, feet up, and read.
Recommended.
